Old Uganda’s president wins again
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has taken a strong lead in Thursday’s presidential election, ahead of his main challenger Bobi Wine, whose party has already raised concerns about the credibility of the results.
Preliminary figures show Museveni with 74 percent of the vote, while Wine has 23 percent, based on results from 81 percent of polling stations.
Wine’s party claimed on social media that a helicopter landed at his residence in Kampala and that he was forcibly taken to an unknown location.
The opposition leader’s son said both his parents had been seized by the military, but internet access challenges across the country have made it difficult to independently confirm the claim.
Local police told the BBC they were not aware of any such incident.
Earlier, Wine said he had been placed under house arrest, with security forces surrounding his home, after alleging fraud in Thursday’s election.
At the time, police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told local broadcaster NBS that Wine, as a presidential candidate, was “a person of interest,” and said the heavy security presence was for his own protection.
Some local journalists reported that security personnel blocked them from accessing Wine’s home in the Magere area of Kampala.
Wine urged his supporters to disregard what he described as “fake results,” accusing authorities of “stealing the vote.” He did not provide evidence to support the claim, and authorities have not responded to the allegations.
Late on Thursday, at least seven opposition supporters were reported killed under disputed circumstances in Butambala, about 55 kilometres southwest of Kampala.
Due to the internet shutdown imposed earlier in the week, information about the violence only became public on Friday.
Muwanga Kivumbi, a Member of Parliament from Wine’s National Unity Platform party, told AFP that soldiers and police fired tear gas and live bullets at hundreds of people who had gathered at his home to follow early election results.
“Ten were killed inside my house,” he said.
Human rights activist Agather Atuhaire confirmed the account to Reuters.
However, police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe disputed the claims, saying officers acted in self-defence after what she described as “a group of NUP goons” attacked a police station and planned to overrun a tallying centre.
She told Reuters the group was armed with machetes, axes, and boxes of matches, and confirmed that at least seven people were killed.
Later on Friday, the US embassy issued a security alert to its citizens following reports that security forces were using tear gas and firing into the air to disperse crowds.
After the 2021 election, in which Wine secured 35 percent of the vote, he was confined to his home for several days by security forces.
Electoral Commission chair Simon Byabakama said on Friday that vote counting had not been affected by the internet shutdown, explaining that the commission was using a private system to transmit results from districts to the national tally centre.
On the timing of the final results, Byabakama said, “We are on course to announce the winner of the presidential election within 48 hours. Before 5 PM tomorrow, we shall have the final results.”
Thursday’s election followed a tense and sometimes violent campaign, with President Museveni, aged 81, seeking a seventh term in office. He first came to power in 1986 as a rebel leader.
Wine, a 43 year old musician turned politician, says he represents Uganda’s youth, who make up the majority of the population. He has promised to fight corruption and introduce major reforms, while Museveni maintains that he is the key to stability and development.
Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Office warned that the election would be marked by “widespread repression and intimidation.”
On election day, voting was delayed by up to four hours in several areas as ballot boxes arrived late and biometric machines used to verify voters failed to function properly.
Some observers have linked these challenges to the nationwide network outage.
Although six other candidates are contesting, the race is largely seen as a contest between Museveni and Wine.
The campaign period was affected by disruptions to opposition activities, with security forces accused of arresting and assaulting Wine’s supporters.
Police spokesperson Rusoke dismissed the allegations, accusing opposition supporters of causing disruptions.
Internet services were suspended on Tuesday, with the Uganda Communications Commission saying the shutdown was meant to prevent misinformation, fraud, and incitement of violence, a move the UN human rights office described as “deeply worrying.”…CONTINUE MORE READING>>>